republicans will reach an agreement but 43% say they won't. meantime, president obama is giving a stern warning to republicans who may be trying to use the debt ceiling as leverage. >> if congress in any way suggests that they're going to tie negotiations to debt ceiling votes and take us to the brink of default once again as part of a budget negotiation, which by the way we have never done in our history until we did it last year, i will not play that game. >> we should say that the president and house speaker john boehner did speak by phone yesterday. that was the first time in a week. no one is saying what the conversation was about. shortly after that call treasury secretary tim geithner went on cnbc and said the white house is ready to go off the cliff. >> if republicans do not agree to that, is the administration prepared to go over the fiscal

cliff in. >> absolutely. there's no prospect to an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2% of the wealthiest. it's only 2%. >> i want to bring in "usa today" bureau chief and welcome to both of you. where are we in these negotiations, susan? >> i think the most encouraging thing was they agreed to the to characterize the phone call. the last time around the characterization of the phone call became a controversy in itself. i think it's pretty clear that the white house and republicans think the white house hand on this is strengthening. we see the polls that you mention, pew polls this week say americans trust the president more, assume if a deal is not reached -- trust the white house more, think if a deal isn't reached it, will be the fault of republicans and it is in fact easier for democrats to go over the fiscal cliff than it is for republicans because then all those tax cuts from the

republicans are swept away. but it's too early. it's only december 6. we've got until december 31st and in washington that's a long time. >> a lifetime. you wrote yesterday the republicans are waving a white flag as big as a bed sheet. you wrote "right now bain ser hoping to lead his fractious gop to an orderly surrender. the question is no longer whether republicans will give on taxes, they already have. all that remains to be be negotiated is how they will increase taxes. s so what's the likely scenario as you see it now? >> the fact they have surrendered, saying we're offering up an $800 billion tax increase, that's a big deal but it doesn't save us from the fiscal cliff. as susan was suggesting, there's a long time to go between now and the 31st. they have to wait until that long because neither side wants to appear to be giving in too early. that means they've given away

more than they had to. you've got the president out there stirring the pot, trying to bring public opinion more to his side. the republicans are struggling to find some message to keep up with it. the danger is this whole thing boils over in animosity before the 31st and they go off the cliff because they have antagonized each other so much. >> and speaking of antagonistic situations, there's been a lot made of the dysfunction within the republican party but there's an article on the front page of the "new york times" that suggests that speaker boehner is actually in a stronger position in his caucus than when he was elected two years ago. how is he doing, do you think? >> well, i think he's in a stronger position because republicans feel like they're in a weaker position. i think a lot of republicans who might prefer a different leader don't feel they have the luxury of that right now. in fact, even congressman kantor and others, who boehner didn't

think he could count on the last time around, are being supportive. republicans are trying to calculate how much they have to give in now and is there a way to fall back with the idea of being able to move ahead in a more aggressive way next year. that's why you saw the president in a very preemptive way trying to rule out the idea of tying talks to next february to raising the debt ceiling. >> alan simpson, the co-chair of the president's deficit commission, was on the "today" show this morning and he said all this talk about either side being able to go off the cliff is ridiculous. let me play that for you. >> when you have leaders of parties and people from the administration saying i think it would be to the advantage of the democrats to go off the cliff or i think it will be advantage to the republicans to go off the cliff or the president to go off the cliff, that's like betting your country. there's stupidity involved in that. this is big time stuff. >> and there's also a question of how far the white house is willing to go to protect middle

class tax cuts. are they willing to limit unemployment insurance, give up infrastructure spending, which is something the president has been talking about from the beginning, payroll tax cut. what's the white house plan here? >> well, alan simpson in addition to being an excellent dancer is a very shrewd political analyst. >> very hip, alan simpson. >> very, very, very good dancer recently. but, look, i think people talk in terms of political advantage and clearly the president is going to gain more political advantage from going off the cliff than the republicans are going to. that's where the polls are showing. that's clearly where there is going. that doesn't mean it's a good idea for the country or economically. the country is are they looking at their own political interests or do they actually want to make sure the economy stays out of recession here. this is a very dangerous game that we're playing with over the next four weeks. >> i want to bring in congressman tom price, a republican from georgia. he is the house policy committee chairman and a member of the budget committee. it's good to see you

congressman. good morning. >> good to be with you. >> i saw an op-ed that you wrote pop up on the web site of the "atlanta journal and constitution" and it was headlined "a message to taxpayers e taxpayers" and it argues house republicans are the only thing standing between families and a tax increase. how is that? >> as you well know, the fiscal cliff we're talking about has all kinds of components to it. it's the estate tax death tax, capital gains, dividend, alternative minimum tax, all the things that will harm a vast majority of americans from a tax standpoint in a significant and fundamental way. we believe those rates ought no increase. the president is willing to play politics and take us to the brink of raising those tax rates on virtually every single american. that's not what we believe is the kind of activity will get our economy and jobs rolling again. >> the white house will argue they're not the ones holds out

to protect the top 2%, that it's the republicans doing that. >> great point, chris, the problem is what the president is holding out for is a nonsolution. the tax increases that the president wants on the top 2% will run this government not for eight years or eight weeks or eight weeks but run this government for eight days, which means it's not a solution. the president is not interested in real policy solutions by evidenced by what he has proposed, he's interested in politics and that's the challenge that we have a getting through that and making certain that we not be talking politics, we talk about positive policy for american people, getting committee rolling and getting jobs created. >> the administration, as we've been saying, has said they're prepared to go over the cliff. we heard that from tim geithner. if republicans refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy and john boehner said yesterday that's unacceptable, though he admitted any revenue will be coming from the rich. let me play that for you. >> the revenues we're putting on the table are going to come from

guess who? the rich. there are ways to limit deductions, close loopholes and have the same people pay more of their money to the federal government without raising tax rates, which we believe will harm our economy. >> there are, as i'm sure you know, congressman, many gop, not just centrists but some conservatives, ohio congressman steve latourette, has argued giving the president what he wants and reducing the debt by $4 or $5 billion. >> it depend wlats what the pac is. this is an administration that has 1 trillion plus deficits for each four years. >> one part of that that republicans have talked about, that 2%, and whether you're going to protect tax break force

them. steve latourette said some people who call me, they're more worried about the fiscal cliff than about rates going up a couple of points. thomas rooney in your party, if there is truly entitlement reforms that's going to preserve social security and medicare for generations to come, it's going to be very difficult for me to oppose higher rates for the rich. what about that? >> and to mr. rooney's point, if in fact there were fundamental, significant reform of medicare, medicaid and social security so that we in fact save and strengthen and secure those programs, just like we did in our budget,those were included in the president's proposal, then that's something that we would talk about and very seriously consider because there's where we got to get. we got to get real solutions. the problem with the president's proposal is it's not a real solution, it's all politics. >> congressman tom price, thank you for coming on the program. >> we've been talking about the president's advantage right now. so, karl rove was not about to

sit on the sidelines. his crossroads gps is running a spot today criticizing the president over his handling of the fiscal cliff. let me take a look at that. >> no real reform. instead spending taxes. we neat bipartisan ideas we can all support. >> dana, is any of that going to make a difference or maybe a broader point is how much are outside groups generally, whether it's on the hill or on tv influencing this debate? >> if it works as well as karl rove's effort during the campaign, i think the president is going to ask him to run more of those ads because it didn't work out so well for him the last time. this is a little different from a political campaign in that spending by interest groups is probably not going to be big enough to crowd out all of this noise that's being made here. i think that interview you just had with tom price was extraordinary for what he didn't say. he didn't say i won't allow taxes to increase. he said it depends on what the

overall package is. that's an extraordinary admission is for one of the most conservative congressmen in the house and i think it shows where these guys are headed. >> when you look at the polls and you see how the messaging is working, susan, and to what we've been talking, about the pressure that these republicans feel, in fact there are even some disgruntled republicans, frank wolf of virginia, i think, suggested every republican lawmaker should kick in five grand. obama is not letting up. he's going to detroit to sell his plan, visiting a virginia family today. how much of this is a messaging war? >> if you thought the campaign was over, wrong. if you thought this isn't the time for politics, incorrect. i don't know that the outside spending matters except at that it succeeds in shaping public opinion. these are a couple of weeks where public opinion matter. i think when people see the

quinnipiac poll, that has an effect on their willingness to bend -- >> is what you heard in tom price's answer, the pressure? >> absolutely. i think the republicans have decided they have a losing hand at the moment, they can't hang tough and just refuse to negotiate. they're going to have to give in on something. how can they give in on a way that also achieves their objectives, for instance, doing something about entitlements. >> do you feel -- we're all getting, we're all playing a game of looking into the crystal ball here, but what do you think the chances are this is settled by the first of the year, susan? >> i think it is likely but not certain to be settled by the first of the year. >> about the same, dana? >> i think it's likelier to be settled in the first few days of next year once they've gone off the cliff. >> danny milbank, susan page, love having you on the program. >> afghan's president hamid karzai is blaming the u.s. for

some of the security problems. he says part of the blame goes to private security firms and contractors brought in by the united states. >> al qaeda i don't think has a presence in afghanistan. i don't know if al qaeda exists as an organization as it is being spoken about. so all we know is that we have insecurity, part of the insecurity is definitely coming to us from terrorism and attacks of the taliban, part of the insecurity is coming to us from the structures that nato and america created in afghanistan. [ male announcer ] red lobster's crabfest ends soon. hurry in and try five succulent entrees, like our tender snow crab paired with savory garlic shrimp. just $12.99.

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one of the oldest old boy clubs in the halls of congress is now under a woman's rule.

when new york representative nita was picked as the ranking member of the house appropriations committee yesterday, it was like watching conde rice swing a club at augusta. joining me is the woman behind the [ through, congresswoman nita lowey. good morning. >> it was an honor to be elected by my colleagues as the top democrat on the appropriations committee. >> this is a huge deal. it goes without saying. you've been in congress 25 years. things have changed a bit, haven't they, congresswoman? >> they sure have. when i came here in 1988, there were 29 women in the house. now there are 81. we have a speaker, who is now a leader who will be speaker again who is a woman. and our caucus really does look like maerk. and what's so exciting about it as a woman, i know that we bring our personal experience as a wife, as a mother to our job and it really makes a difference. >> you know, one of obviously

the most powerful people in the country is the speaker. she's been a big advocate of yours. she did have this news conference yesterday touting the number of women in the diversity and leadership and she sent out a tweet boasting about that, clearly a stab at the republicans, who took a lot of heat because they appointed the first 19 chairs, all of them were white men and then they finally gave one leadership position to a woman. i asked your colleague marcia blackburn about this and she said, look, we haven't had a lot of women in congress for a long time, it's a seniority issue, we have people who are coming up through the ranks in local offices, we need to get them in congress. is what we're seeing with the republicans just a matter of they need to get more women in there longer or is it something else? >> oh, i think it's something else. our democratic caucus reflects america. in fact, we have the first

majority/minority caucus in the congress for the first time. we represent not just women, we represent african-americans, we represent hispanics, we represent asians, we represent wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and that's why when we approach issues on appropriation like education and health care and building in infrastructure, rebuilding our schools, dealing with the environment, our perspective is absolutely essential. so you may have women in congress, a couple, but what really matters is to have women at the table so that our perspectives, our lifetime of experience can be reflected in the work we do. >> you've been at the table for a while but your influence is obviously increasing. tell me where you stand on fiscal cliff. what's going to happen here, congresswoman? >> well, i am hoping because i'm the kind of person that always worked across the aisle. in fact on my foreign-ones

committee, kay granger and i have been called the odd couple, we work well together. i've spoken to hal rodgers, chairman of the appropriations committee, i'm optimist being that we can sit at the table and get these things done. comprehensive tax reform is going to take longer, but we can make sure that the middle class keeps its tax cuts. we can make sure we target some waste. you can have across-the-board cuts. we have to have a very clear plan to cut back on certain areas. we can't cut back on programs that benefit the working and the middle class. we have to make sure our kids are educated. we have to make sure they have health care. but there are places in the bill that we can cut, and we don't want to do it with a sledge hammer. we're wise enough to be able to use a scalpel. so, again, i hope that we can sit together, work something out and do it soon. frankly, the holidays are coming up and members of congress and

their families deserve to celebrate, whether it's hanukkah or christmas, and we're adults. let's just get this done. >> congressman nita lowey, congratulations and thanks for coming on the program. >> thank you so much. >> gay couples lined up to be the first to be legally married in washington date. in king county, doors opened after midnight to distribute marriage license because as of today, same-sex marriage is legal in washington. however, the earliest those weddings it actually take place is sunday because there's a three-day waiting period after you get the license. ♪ the weather outside is frightful ♪

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yeah we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. to politics now where crowds of people in washington state were lighting up to celebrate. the occasion -- marijuana is legal there now. washington and colorado became the first states to decriminalize pot, but the feds

are issuing stern warnings. the u.s. attorney for seattle insists they will prosecute people caught smoking or in possession of pot on fed property, buildings or parks. >> some members of congress are packing their bags to head home because they thought the house was in recess but majority leader eric cantor extended the schedule yesterday. now congress will come back to work next week hopefully to get a fiscal cliff deal. >> maybe the movie "lincoln" will inspire senators to work together. a special screening is scheduled for december 19th. senate aides said they will not screen the movie on the senate floor but somewhere else. >> michelle obama has said over and over again she never wants to run for office but a new poll shows her leading senator mark kirk in a very hypothetical matchup. the illinois republican had a stroke last year. >> tonight the entire obama family will gather around the christmas tree. it just happens to be the

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didn't address them directly. >> these attempts to divide americans into our voters and their voters, let's be really clear, republicans must steer far clear of that trap. >> joining me now, cnbc contributor tony frat owe and former white house deputy press secretary under president george w. bush and managing partner at hamilton place strategies kiki mclean, senior adviser to the 2008 hillary clinton presidential campaign. good morning. >> good morning. >> tony, do republicans sit back and wish governor sununu would quit talking? >> not only is it offensive to a large part of the lack trat, it happens to be wrong. republicans did very well and in fact governor romney did very well among lower income voters. so it's wrong but we shouldn't be talking that way. we should be talking about all americans and economic opportunity for all americans and trying to achieve that.

that's the important thing. >> governor sununu of course has made controversial comments before. let me play for you what he said about president obama after the first presidential debate back in october. >> what people saw last night i think was a president that revealed his incompetence, how lazy and detached he is and how he has absolutely no idea how serious the economic problems of the country are. >> john sununu also suggested race was a motivating factor for colin powell to support president obama for president. is there really much of a constituency out there for that, kiki? >> i don't think there is. i think this is one of the problems that the national party is experiencing. there have been other leaders in the party who frankly promote these ignorant points of view. and engage in demeaning and frankly conversations and language that we teach our 10-year-olds that's just not

polite, it not right and more importantly it's factually incorrect. they need to step back. if they need a briefing, i'm happy to bring some other democrats around the table and show governor sununu who the voters who supported the president really are and who the people in our party really are and maybe he can spread the word amongst some other leaders in his party. >> we were talking about this going into the break about the holidays coming up and a lot of people have that sort of elderly uncle or grandfather who always manages to say inappropriate things that you don't want to bring somebody outside the family home because you never know what they're going to say. is this, tony, a generational divide, the paul ryans and chris christie and bobby jindal? is it really that real divide with the very conservative wing of the party? and if either case, how do they bridge that divide moving forward? >> i do think there is a need to talk to america differently. maybe it is generational. i feel like i span that

generation where i find myself now older than a lot of new republicans even elected officials right now -- >> they have the 80s class in now. >> i don't know how i became old but i have. but it does need to be a shift to new republicans. there a lot of them out there. frankly i'd love to see the media talk to a lot of new republicans, the jeb hencerlings and paul ryan and bobby jindal and marco rubio, a lot of strong, younger voices in the party i would like to see more on. i turn on the tv and see newt gingrich back on tv. he hasn't been a republican leader in about 16 years. that's a long time. we need to shift and hear some of the newer voices in the party. >> i have to say just because you have some gray hair doesn't mean you can say those things. this isn't just about being inappropriate. >> i agree, kiki. >> sometimes the truth is inappropriate. these are just dead wrong. they're promoting myths and

unfactual statements and you just can't let that go. whether you're young or old, you know better than that and you shouldn't be doing it. >> i agree. i think there are smart ways to talk about a lot of these issues. i think we're going to get that opportunity and it's going to be a test for the party for how we talk about things like immigration reform. if we change how we talk about and think about the immigrant community in this country, that's going to make -- i think that's going to make a difference but it is going to be a test for the party on that kind of language of course. >> but it also means acknowledging the facts. it's not just how we talk about things in this country in a political discourse but it's agreeing to what the facts are. >> there are two issues we're talking about. one is facts and the other one is about a certain level of civility. i was reminded when i was watching the movie "lincoln" and tommy lee jones as thaddeus stevens. i wonder if there is a purpose, again, the facts are one thing

but stylistically to vocifero vociferously stating your belief. nobody can understand where governor sununu stands on thing. >> listen, politics is different by passion, okay. but when you watch that film you'll also find that tommy lee jones' character had his facts right. that's why the facts do matter. you can be passionate, you can even show humor and chiding and an occasional thrust when you make your argument, but when you have your facts wrong and when you attempt to tear people down, that's when it's over the line. >> and i also wonder if it is part and parcel of the 24-hour news cycle. because if you say incendiary things, it's a way of sort of keeping yourself relevant. you talked about newt gingrich, who hasn't been in power in a very long time. you talk about governor sununu and this is maybe the way they try to keep -- >> there's a lot of tv space to fill. i don't like to get people off

that lightly. just because the opportunity is there, they still have a responsibility to, as kiki says talk factually and talk in a way that is inclusive of all people. >> tony and kiki, great conversation. thanks to both of you. >> thanks. >> we want to confirm here now conservative south carolina senator jim demint is leaving the senate in january. if he does step down, governor nikki haley would be able to appoint a temporary replacement. are you surprised by that at all, tony? >> i am. it's the first i've heard of this. nikki haley would have an opportunity to name a replacement. you'd also have to consider nikki haley a strong candidate to run for that position. so definitely something a lot of people would want to look for. >> what do you make of this, kiki? >> well, look, i think that the conservatives in the republican party are probably looking for leadership. demint has been that consistently conservative person but i think we've got to hear

from him why he's making that choice to leave the senate and do that. >> all right. thank you again both. i also want to say that i was also just handed this, that new jersey's governor chris christie just entered the white house through the west executive entrance but he apparently is there to talk about sandy aid. also making news, a massive recovery effort in the philippines after a cat traffic typhoon. at least 350 are diead, 400 mor missing. the u.s. department of state has sent its condolences. >> back at home, unemployment applications are way down. the labor department said the number of people applying for benefits dropped 25,000 last week to 370,000. unemployment applications spiked last month after hurricane sandy to almost a half million in the week of november 10th. >> accompanied by prince

william, kate middleton left a london hospital for treatment of acute morning sickness. she will continue her treatment at buckingham palace. >> and there was this prank call to the hospital. >> that doesn't even sound -- i mean, that's ridiculous. the nurse ended up giving up personal information and the d.j.s say they never thought their fake accents would fool anyone. >> jovan belcher's daughter will get about $1 million from the nfl. the linebacker killed her mother and then killed himself. she will keep getting paid if she goes to college. right now her grandmother is caring for her. >> kobe bryant made history last

night. he is the youngest player ever to score 30,000 points. he's only 34 years old. now he's in a very exclusive club. just four our guys have hit 40,000, kareem abdul-jabbar, michael jordan and wilt chamberlain. >> and why is this dog out for a sunday drive? we'll show you in "down to the wire" coming up in 15 minutes. >> another sign the banking industry in america is being permanently reshaped. huge cuts at citibank. how deep are these cuts and what's the industry saying about it? >> chris, citi said it's cutting 4% of its workforce. investors are thinking this is a the first in a series of steps that will shrink the bank to a more manageable and profitable size.

the news not a total shot to the market. >> it also kind of feels, maybe because i live in new york, like there's a starbucks on every corner. sometimes it feels like they're less than a block apart. but i couldn't believe when i saw when was in the works at starbucks. >> just when you thought starbucks might be reaching a saturation point at home, there is room for it to grow domestically and globally. they are planning to increase stores in the u.s. by more than 20%, that's roughly 2,000 new stores in the next five years or so. part of the growth strategy includes a varied product mix, tea and juice. and in china and the asia pacific region, there's plenty of room to grow. starbucks expects china will overtake canada as its second largest market in 2014. >> great to have you. thank you. and forbes is out with a list of the world's most powerful people.

number five, pope benedict xvi. bill gates is number four. of course the microsoft found are and philanthropist. number three, russian president vladimir putin. number two is almost the most powerful woman, angela merkel and number one was unanimous, president barack obama. ♪ everybody wants to rule the world ♪ cer ] when this hotel added aflac to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! [ male announcer ] are you on medicare? do you have the coverage you need? open enrollment ends friday, december 7th. so don't wait. now's the time to get on a path that could be right for you...

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following a night of violent clashes. fights broke out between supporters and opponents of president morsi. >> good morning, chris. >> obviously the protests aren't letting up. they're using stones, molotov cocktails, the tanks are in the streets. is there any sign that president morsi will give into protester demands rescind the decree that gives him almost absolute power? >> the muslim brotherhood as reached out and talked about a dialogue with the opposition and president morsi is to address the nation in a way to finally talk and explain his motives and what his intentions are. i think this was a colossal mista mistake in seizing this much power without explaining to his

nation since the biggest crisis of the ouster of hosni mubarak two years ago. this could be a turning point. egypt will go to the polls next week to vote on this constitutional referendum, which really will define the new order in egypt with rippling repercussions across the region so this crisis can't be overestimated. it's really fundamental to what happens next in the so-called arab spring. >> in fact, three of morsi's advisers resigned yesterday. the u.s. has not criticized him public live since the crisis began. with everybody that's going on, the violence escalating the military, the country truly divided, how much pressure is there going to be on the administration to step in? is there a point at which you see the u.s. won't be able to stay quiet anymore? >> president morsi's top national security team has been in washington for the last three das and i've net with them twice. they're discussing the possibility of president morsi visiting the united states in

february. there is a serious dialogue between egypt and the united states about a whole host of issues, including the gaza cease-fire and hamas in which egypt is playing an important role. and hillary clinton, as well as the white house, have called for the egyptians to engage in a broader dialogue because the stakes with egypt as one quarter of the arab population couldn't be greater. >> so you don't expect anything different than what we've heard from hillary clinton at this point? >> no, but if the tensions play out in a tougher way on the streets, i think the administration will be under pressure to do something or say something more publicly about what's happening. >> there are new developments in syria, robin opinion u. irobin. there are reports that syria is

prepared to use chemical weapons. hillary clinton speak about it in brussels yesterday. >> we sent an unmistakable message we that an would cross a red line and those responsible would be held to account. we intend to make that view as clear as we possibly can be. >> how likely is is it that assad will give that order? >> the government was forced to close the airport because of fighting near, it took down the entire internet. his country is no longer just beleaguered, it is besieged. he can last a while longer but he is in trouble. if he uses chemical weapons, that is a point at which the international community will no longer sit at a distance in

dealing with this regime. i think he may know that. weighing the alternatives, it may be an instrument he might think will keep him in power but it could provoke and accelerate his denies. >> would the russians abandon him? >> the russian position in supporting the assad regime and calling for some sort of negotiations with the administration that would keep assad around have been his mainstay and the russian position appears to be fluctuating a little, the fact that vladimir putin has been talking to the president of turkey, the prime minister of turkey, about how they can find some outcome and not see the endless bloodshed that has cost 40,000 lives so far. i think we are beginning to see a lot of forces come together. not enough but it may well be that kind of turning point we all look back to. >> robin wright, it's always

good to have you on the program. thank you so much. >> thank you, chris. >> today's tweet of the day comes from reid wilson, our friend and editor in chief of the hot line. i find this fascinating. most looked up word in a single 24-hour period in 2012 permeram webster, malarkey, after biden used it at the debate. wasn't my daughter's black bean soup spectacular?

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pizza perfume, driving dogs and the grammys. if you've always loved that smell when you open a box of piping hot pizza, well now you can hear it. pizza hut is releasing a brand new fragrance named pizza hut perfume. i know what you're thinking, finally. it started as a joke and now 110

bottles have been produced for facebook fans. no word on if pizza hut will make more. >> buckle up humans. now there are dogs behind the wheel. a couple canines in new zealand got traend to drive. they're actually driving. they can change gears, they can brake, they're steering. the point is to show how smart rescue dogs can be. >> good news for this brother and sister who have found happy news. they were april boous and ababu the railroad tracks. one had to get a prosthetic legs. >> and the grammy nominations, topping the list with six nods each, kanye west, jay-z, frank ocean, mumford and sons and fun. >> the album of the year include the black keys, fun, mumford &

sons frank ocean and jack white. >> okay. ruff ready for the new "star trek" movie? >> you think your world is safe. it is an illusion. >> "star trek "enter darkness ". that's just the trailer. twitter was going crazy over "star trek." >> twitter is going crazy over the resignation of congressman demint. >> republican congresswoman

diane black will join me. president obama's approval rating jumps to any highs, his best in three years. where does congress rank? you might not be surprised on that one. and forbes unveils its most powerful list. who comes out on top. and that much freshness is gonna take some getting used to... [ sniffing ] yep. it's amazing what a single scoop of gain freshness can do. tomato, obviously. haha. there's more than that though, there's a kick to it. wahlalalalallala!

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how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. topping our agenda this hour, can you hear me now? no more reindeer games in washington. president obama and house speaker john boehner finally on speaking terms. but the question is are they speaking each other's language yet when it comes to the fiscal cliff? with just 26 days to go before the country officially goes over the edge, there are reports a growing course of republicans are pressuring house leaders to cave on tax hikes for the wealthy, this following president obama and speaker boehner's first phone call in days with both sides staying mum on the details. this afternoon president obama's fiscal photo-op off the day takes him to the suburban home of a middle class families in virginia, one of the thousands who responded to the